President Biden claims to be “viscerally angry” about the container lines who he blames for inflation, soaring freight rates, supply chain congestion and much in between. The political theatre of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act was on show in the US this week, but to help explain what it really means for shipping this week’s Lloyd’s List Podcast features two people who really know what’s going on: Federal Maritime Commissioner chairman Daniel Maffei President and CEO of the World Shipping Council John Butler.

The Lloyd’s List Podcast: Why does President Biden want to punch shipping CEOs?

WHEN an oil tanker can trade internationally and switch between fictional flags and take on digital identities of ghost ships that were scrapped years ago, there is a problem.

Not a fictional problem. A real life, tangible problem that relates to a real ship performing really dangerous operations with zero accountability and, apparently, no means to stop it.

In the first edition of this podcast, we detailed how a growing black market of fraudulent ship registers, created by linked networks of international scammers have sprung up.

This edition will focus on why these fake flags are just a symptom of a much wider problem.

The system is broken.

Fixing that system, however, is going to require a root-and-branch reappraisal of how we ensure compliance and oversight in global trade, and it’s going to require governments to be genuinely accountable for the ships they flag.

Let’s start with the basics. We know what a fraudulent ship register looks like and what it doesn’t do, but what should a flag be doing? Why does the flag a ship is flying matter?

Joining Richard this week are:

Bridget Diakun, senior risk and compliance analyst, Lloyd’s List

Christian Panto, independent open-source intelligence analyst

Alfonso Castillero, chief executive, Liberian International Ship and Corporate Registry

False flags: Why shipping’s registry system is broken and how we fix it

The Gulf of Guinea has been a persistent problem when it comes to maritime security and there is good reason to be concerned that 2019 is only going to get worse. This week’s podcast examines the security situation for shipping talking to Bimco’s head of security Jakob Larsen and Senior Maritime Analyst at Control Risks, Cormac Mc Garry.

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The Lloyd’s List Podcast: The persistent problem of piracy

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False flags: Why shipping’s registry system is broken and how we fix it

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